Tied up in a yard littered with rusty metal and garbage, Joey was left to starve to death. Once he pulled a cart through the heavily trafficked streets of Tel Aviv, but malnutrition kept him too small and frail for the heavy loads. Every bone protruded from his skin.

An ill-fitting bridle rubbing against his face caused a fungus infection, the metal bit in his mouth carved permanent scars into both sides of his mouth, and abscesses on his feet swelled up where an infection had gone untreated.

In a deep depression and obvious physical pain, a week of being given proper food passed before he was able to expel the rope, plastic, and netting he had eaten out of desperation. Thanks to CHAI's Israeli sister charity, Hakol Chai, today he has real food and fresh water daily, his wounds have been treated by a veterinarian, and no one will ever harm him again.

Joey had never seen grass. Led out into a field of knee-high grass for the first time, he lowered his head to smell this strange new stuff and his eyes lit up. He nibbled on a few blades, then burst into leap of joy, bucking several times before settling down to eat. Gradually, the depression is ebbing and when a little Welsh pony trotted up to him to be introduced, he didn't fail to notice that she was a girl.

Many other horses like Joey are suffering in Jaffa, the old part of Tel Aviv. Please donate to our efforts to expose their abuse, get them help, and stop the terrible phenomenon of horse-drawn carts forced to drive through busy city streets.

Please write to the Mayor and to other Tel Aviv municipal officials, asking them to inspect the condition of horses kept in Jaffa and to enforce regulations prohibiting their abuse:

These banners, created by Hakol Chai and mounted outside the Knesset on Animal Rights Day for all who entered or exited the Knesset to see, proclaim:

"The jockey won, the horse died. Say NO to horseracing in Israel!"

"Minister of Agriculture, the racehorses are counting on you! Do not bet on their life!"

Photo: Hakol Chai

In honor of Animal Rights Day in the Knesset, February 28th, on behalf of CHAI's sister charity in Israel, Hakol Chai, Knesset Member Yoel Hasson, Chair of the Knesset Pro-Animal Caucus created by Hakol Chai, introduced a bill that would amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit gambling on any sport involving animals, including horse racing. The bill was co-sponsored by eight Knesset members from different political parties.

MK Hasson's speech introducing the bill was aired on the TV channel that covers issues in the Knesset and was written about in several articles, among them an article in Ha'aretz, the newspaper of intellectuals. (See Contentious Gallop). Following are among KM Hasson's comments upon introducing the bill:

Horse racing and gambling on horses...are the clearest example of animal abuse...anyone who knows what the horses go through in these competitions, before the race and after the race; anyone who knows the way these horses are treated in order to make them faster...they undergo mistreatment...really terrible things....what exactly does it contribute?...Is it amusement? Is abusing animals in this way pleasurable?

I want to support Amutat Hakol Chai, which is leading the fight against starting this thing called horse racing in Israel, or racing any other animals...There is no benefit to it, there is nothing in it that will make us a better society...once they bet on gladiators, on human beings fighting each other, and people bet on who would be left alive. We've stopped doing that, right?...There is nothing worse than this for the horse. Nothing...I hope this day will move us forward in everything to do with animal welfare in Israel, and that we will not be seeing horse racing in Israel.

The bill states that a person may not exploit an animal for the purpose of gambling. Following is an excerpt from the explanation accompanying the bill:

The use of animals for gambling...lacks any ethical purpose and is fundamentally immoral. Animals in the gambling industry suffer from diseases, doping, injuries and early death. They are turned into machines, pushed to the limit of their ability in any possible way. Unlike participation in a competition on which bets cannot be placed, the financial consideration is the only factor underlying gambling contests. In this way, the animal becomes a means of production, something to 'use and discard,' and there is inherent exploitation and abuse.

Restrictive legislation is ineffective. Regulatory attempts in other countries to restrict this cruelty have have not been able to prevent the abuses, since the regulator cannot control it and it is not possible to safeguard the welfare of the exploited animals.

The use of animals for the purpose of gambling offers fertile ground for criminal elements, for whom it provides a broad field of action in which they can cheat and bias the results in many different ways. Crime and violence are an inseparable part of these events, and cannot be prevented. The development of the gambling subculture, and the exploitation of the weakness of poor people who believe in the dream of getting rich quick, or those who are addicted to gambling, add to the unethical nature of this activity.

Gambling games and spectacles for humans to watch, based on purely financial interests, come at the expense of the health and spirit of the animal. Animals used in the gambling industry are nothing more than a tool to serve those who are stronger than them and who wish to make a profit at the expense of their suffering, for pure entertainment and greed.

URGENT: Please sign here to support the creation of shark sanctuary in Semporna, Malaysia.

Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). Shark fins are being "harvested" in ever greater numbers to feed the growing demand for shark fin soup, an Asian "delicacy".

Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%. Due to the clandestine nature of finning, records are rarely kept of the numbers of sharks and species caught. Estimates are based on declared imports to shark fin markets such as Hong Kong and China.

StopSharkFinning.net is campaigning to achieve a worldwide ban on shark finning. That means that all sharks caught must be landed intact - their fins must not be removed while the shipping vessel is at sea.

If you are concerned about the plight of sharks - an animal that has been around since before the dinosaurs - there are plenty of things you can do to help. So go to our campaigns page and take action now!

Easter is arriving... Unfortunately, every year, along with the Easter bunny's happiness comes the ox's sadness. In an act of profound cruelty, Farra do Boi ("Ox Fun") involves the torture and killing of several oxen in more than thirty communities.

United Airlines -- of the famous "Fly the Friendly Skies" slogan -- just got a lot less dog-friendly. Last week, the company decided that some dogs can't fly with their families, because United doesn't like the way they look.

The airline has singled out nine different breeds of dog as "dangerous," judging pets on their appearance instead of how they behave. These kinds of breed discriminatory policies fuel the misconceptions about dogs like pit bulls that lead to breed bans and the deaths of thousands of innocent dogs.

Jessie Huart discovered the policy when she was trying to book a ticket to travel with her dog, a 10-year-old pit bull named Slaw. She was told by the airline that because he's a pit bull, Slaw couldn't go, so she started a petition on Change.org to ask United to treat all dogs equally, regardless of breed. Click here to add your name to Jessie’s petition.

We've waited over fifty years for this moment: to permanently protect the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness. Take this historic opportunity to protect the wildlife and wilderness of the Arctic Refuge.

It is time to put an end to the use of exotic animals in traveling shows, exhibitions, and circuses. You can help!

Join PAWS for their Light 'em Up for 3359 campaign by sending an URGENT alert to your Congressional Representative asking that they support H.R. 3359 , the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act (TEAPA).

Exotic animals used in traveling circuses in the U.S. are often subjected to horrendous physical and psychological abuse. Their movement is severely restricted for extremely long periods of time, and they are often confined to cages that are barely larger than their own bodies. Rigorous, physically abusive training methods involving electric shocks, beatings, and food deprivation are used to force them to perform tricks that are unnatural and meaningless to them.

So far, no Wisconsin assembly member has co-sponsored this bill, but it doesn't mean that they won't support it once it comes up for a vote.

Over ninety-two fires burn out of control in the Tripa swamp rainforest of Indonesia—home to one of the largest remaining populations of wild orangutans in the world. The fires now ablaze in Tripa started as palm oil companies rushed to clear forests once they realized that community groups had gone to court to try and stop their plantation expansion. These Sumatran orangutans could be completely wiped out if these fires are allowed to continue.

Our doggie kids, Poppy & Cara have given 10.00 Please give what you can too !

Hamish and Dougal are two Highland steers that need your help. The farmer who owns them is willing to spare them - if the funds can be raised to purchase and transport them to Hillside Animal Sanctuary.

But time is running out! We have until the end of the summer to raise £2500+. ...

The Center for Food Safety has joined beekeepers and partners in filing a legal petition that calls on EPA to suspend registration of Bayer’s controversial bee-toxic pesticide, clothianidin. We also delivered over a million signatures from individuals around the world calling on the Agency to take decisive action to protect honey bees from neonicotinoid pesticides before it is too late.

Bees are still sick, and EPA is still stuck. Bees and other pollinators are still dying off at catastrophic rates – commercial beekeepers lost an average of 36% of their hives last year according to U.S.D.A. Honey bees pollinate one in every three bites of our food and. As indicator species, they serve as sentinels whom we ignore at our peril. With the legal petition, we’re redoubling our efforts to protect them.

As the public debate over causes behind Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) – a syndrome in which bees seemingly abandon their hives – carries on in the media, more and more new science has shown that neonicotinoid pesticides are indeed a critical piece of the puzzle. Neonicotinoids like clothianidin are not the sole cause of CCD, but they are making our bees sick, and at least one of them is on the market illegally. While we may not know the exact cause of CCD, EPA knows enough to act, and has the authority and responsibility to suspend Bayer’s bee-toxic pesticide, clothianidin – yet for over a year the Agency has failed to do so.

As awful as last month's tragedy near Zanesville, OH, was, in which scores of exotic animals were shot dead after being freed by their suicidal "owner," there is good news: The United States now can take a leadership role to finally end the destructive and tragic trade in exotic wildlife.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has crafted a regulatory proposal to restrict interstate transport of nine foreign snake species — the boa constrictor and variations of python and anaconda. The proposal would make it illegal to import or transport these species across state lines for any purpose other than research.

Take a moment to tell the White House to approve this common-sense regulation before any person is hurt.

We cannot wait another moment for this rule to pass. Something similar to Zanesville but potentially far worse is brewing in Florida. But instead of 50 carnivorous mammals, we're talking some 100,000 (or more!) pythons on the loose. They're in the Everglades because some had been released there by human "owners" who no longer could meet their needs, and they're very prolific breeders.

Last week, a 16-foot-long Burmese python was found in the Everglades with a 76-pound deer in its belly. Six years ago, a 13-foot-long python there burst while trying to digest a 6-foot-long alligator.

Every year since 1988, more than 800,000 people have visited the Everglades. It's inevitable that someday, unless something is done soon, we'll hear about a Burmese python swallowing a person — perhaps even a child.

Some politicians, sadly susceptible to whining by snake breeders about potential job losses, oppose the snake trade ban. That reflects a reckless disregard for public safety. They don't seem to care that these massive, mammal-eating reptiles — if left unregulated — could cost governments many millions of dollars to contain, capture or kill. Some biologists warn that these snakes, who are native to south and southeast Asia, could migrate as far as Oregon!

In honor of April's Adopt-A-Greyhound Month, the GREY2K USA Education Fund is eager to launch a focused effort to educate Floridians about dog racing and to promote the adoption of ex-racers. Our idea is to erect colorful billboards across the state that point readers to a web site with adoption information and local rescue group links.

Three designs have been created for this campaign. Each message is intended to be informative, appealing and to promote greyhound adoption in a state that has more dog tracks than all others combined.

We have also submitted an application for one month's funding to a very compassionate foundation, but we would like to extend our program as much as possible. Also if we are successful in Florida, we would like to bring the program to all the dog racing states nationwide.

Billboards are a great way to reach thousands of people a day with our message of greyhound protection and adoption. Clear Channel Digital Outdoor offers a network of digital billboards positioned in high-profile locations and designed to reach commuters on heavily-traveled expressways and thoroughfares.

Each billboard is digital and displays eight rotating advertisements for 8 – 10 seconds each. Our greyhound ads would be seen six or more times a minute!

Live in New York State? An all-volunteer network of animal lovers in Massachusetts passed a state law banning devocalization of dogs and cats (yes, it's done it to cats too!). Learn how you can pass a similar law in NYS:

Help Hens The use of battery cages is perhaps the cruelest form of institutionalized animal abuse in existence. Fortunately, Congress is now considering a landmark federal bill that would ban barren battery cages nationwide and reduce the suffering of hundreds of millions of animals every year. Take action!

The new era of Nimes is conceived only at the level of the big challenges of planet. Like that to find an alternative to the model of predation plugs at the origin of the crisis ecological, financial, economic, food, energy, moral, social

The man must develop an ethics in his relation with alive, it is a question of survival.

The bullfighting goes contrary to this humanization of our practices and necessary education to non-violence to our children.

Blood should not obscure the arenas of Nimes any more.

Nimes must become one of the hearths of the civilization of XXIe century when the reconciliation of the man with nature is a required passage towards an alleviated ground. The city has all the intelligences and energies, all the creativity, to enter a new era.

It can join the lifeblood of the world revival.

It is urgent for Nimes to be reconciled with the bull. A bull born for a peaceful life within its herd, and not for the combat.

To put an end to the bullfighting, it is a new way of living the city, of the magnifier by finding his identity root. Wasn't it built around a symbol of life? Do the source of the Celtic sanctuary, the nemeton, and from where the name of Nemausus draw its origin?

Nimes can maintain the feria while doing without the bullfight. With its god of the source, Nimes is dedicated to becoming a city engaged in the protection of this treasure threatened on all planet: water.

There exists an alternative to the bullfighting. It is the Festival of water.

Brightness of civilization, here is the bullfighter's costume of Nimes.

We, undersigned, request from the minister Culture and Communication, Frederic Mitterrand, the désinscription, as soon as possible, bullfight of the list of the inventory of the immaterial goods of the French inheritance. Moreover, since this inscription was done in greatest opacity and that the tackled subject is very polemical, we ask that take place in the country a debate on the bullfight, which could begin with the inscription with the day order of work of the National Assembly of the private bill abolitionist deposited last July by Mesdames the deputies Muriel Marland-Militello (UMP) and Genevieve Gaillard (P.

New York City's Carriage Horses - A Dangerous, Inhumane Industry That Must End

The Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages, of which IDA is a member, reports that there have been nine adverse incidents involving carriage horses that have resulted in vehicular accidents, injury to horses or passengers, or in one case the death of a carriage horse. All of these have occurred since July 2011, spanning a period of just nine months, averaging out to about one incident per month.

Most incidents occur when a horse “spooks” - becomes frightened and takes flight, dragging the carriage behind him. In a noisy, chaotic environment like New York City, things that can spook a horse are a constant reality.

Some horses collapse or become entangled in carriages and harnesses. Sometimes they collapse for no apparent reason, like Charlie, who collapsed and died on the street in October. His death is still unexplained.

A noisy, congested city is no place for horse-drawn carriages. These horses suffer day-in and day-out, from pulling carriages in all manner of weather extremes, to their dark and lonely nights spent in the barren warehouses where they return at the end of their nine hour days. By law, they can work seven days a week. You can help by speaking out against the cruel carriage horse industry in NYC. Click here to read more and take action.

Join the BUAV and help save bunnies this Easter by only buying products which carry the Leaping Bunny logo! Despite bans on animal testing for cosmetics and toiletries in the UK and EU, products that have been tested on animals in other parts of the world are still allowed to be sold.

This Easter, BUAV certified company Melvita is offering a fantastic promotion to BUAV supporters! Use the promo code MELBUAV12 to get 15% off purchases, online and in-store. Visit the Melvita website or one of their stores in Putney and Covent Garden to take advantage of this special offer which is valid between April 6th and 9th 2012.

The BUAV has successfully applied to ‘intervene’ in the first animal testing appeal case at the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) for REACH.

A Belgium chemical company has been ordered by ECHA to carry out a cruel rabbit test. The test, an inhalation experiment would involve up to 120 rabbits forced to inhale refrigerant gas for 90 days before being killed. The substance is used in sealed car air conditioning systems. We have submitted our legal and scientific arguments to the Board of Appeal at the Agency calling on it to overturn the decision.

Did you know thousands of rabbits are used in UK laboratories every year?

The BUAV is raising awareness of the cruel use of rabbits in research. Shockingly, over 10,000 rabbits are used in experiments each year in the UK.

Rabbits are used in toxicity (poisoning) tests for drugs, agricultural and industrial chemicals and food additives. These tests include dripping chemicals into their eyes and on their shaved backs as well as poisoning pregnant rabbits to examine the effects on their unborn babies. In pyrogenicity tests, rabbits are restrained by their necks in “stocks” for at least six hours and injected with a test substance.

Rabbits are also used in fundamental and applied research which is often very invasive and they can suffer substantially. Recent experiments include rabbits having holes drilled into their skulls for metal implants; baby rabbits repeatedly injected into their stomachs with a fungi extract known to cause allergies and lung inflammation and rabbits deliberately wounded and injected with a bacteria to cause infection.

On February 29, 2012, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4122, to prohibit the private possession and breeding of big cats. The bill will insure that lions, tigers and other dangerous big cats – which are kept as pets and exploited in roadside zoos and traveling exhibits – do not threaten public safety, diminish the global big cat conservation efforts, or end up living in deplorable conditions where they can be subject to mistreatment and cruelty. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) announced on the same day plans to introduce a companion bill in the Senate within the next few weeks.

The debate over private ownership of big cats garnered national attention last October when the owner of a backyard menagerie in Zanesville, Ohio, opened the cages of his tigers, leopards, lions, wolves, bears and monkeys before committing suicide. Local police, who were neither trained nor properly equipped to deal with a situation of that magnitude, were forced to shoot and kill nearly 50 animals—38 of them big cats—before they could enter populated areas.

The bill would make it illegal to possess any big cat except at accredited zoos and wildlife sanctuaries where they can be properly cared for and sheltered, and would only allow breeding at accredited zoos, along with some research or educational institutions. Current owners would be allowed to keep the cats they currently have provided they register their cats with USDA to keep them from being slaughtered to sell their parts (see below), but they would not be allowed to acquire or breed more. Violators of the law could have their animals confiscated along with any vehicles or equipment used to aid in their activity, and could face stiff penalties including fines up to $20,000 and up to five years in jail.

At Shark Savers, we are frequently asked by people interested in sharks what they can do in their communities and localities to help protect sharks.

Our Ban the Fin program is designed to empower you to make a difference and become a grassroots shark advocate in your community.

Ban the Fin is a self-managed campaign designed to help you organize grassroots support in your community or neighborhood for the protection of sharks. With Ban the Fin, you can educate your neighbors and colleagues and then encourage them to pledge that they will not condone or participate in the sale, purchase, or possession of shark products. The goal is to motivate a school, university, workplace, home-owners association, church, sports team, any other community group, and ultimately an entire community, to declare themselves for the sharks and against their destruction.

Whale shark fins. Photo: Didit Manaseh

You could become a Volunteer Campaign Captain. When you become a Volunteer Campaign Captain, you have access to Shark Savers' tools to educate and effect change within community groups. We have created easy-to-follow instructions in our Create your own Ban the Fin Campaign guide. Please send us your feedback, experiences, and ideas to help the program evolve.

Ban the Fin's grass-roots approachbuilds on recent successes in territories, states, communities and towns across the world. Shark Savers has worked successfully with other conservation groups and dedicated individuals to support the passage of laws to ban the sale and possession of shark products in Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Oregon, and Washington. Shark Savers is working with a coalition of organizations to support the passage of a statewide shark fin ban in California.

While seeking a legal ban on the shark fin trade is a desirable goal, we recognize that creating laws is an undertaking that not every shark advocate is ready to take on and not every city is ready to enact it. Ban the Fin allows you to make progress towards that goal by building the constituency for sharks in your community.

As you succeed in signing up a community, organization, school, local team or group to the Ban the Fin cause, Shark Savers will add that group to the our Fin-Free Map (in development). Together, one group at a time, we will make the world safe for sharks.

As early as this week, the U.S. House of Representatives may consider H.R. 4089, the so-called “Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012,” a highly controversial omnibus bill that combines several radical hunting proposals into one awful package.

Among other things, the legislation seeks to allow importation of polar bear trophies taken in sport hunts in Canada; mandate that the Department of Interior and the U.S. Forest Service open nearly all federal public lands to hunting without regard to the impact on wildlife and other resources; and strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate toxic lead.

TAKE ACTION:Please make a brief, polite phone call to your U.S. representative (click here to find your representative's name and phone number), and urge a "No" vote on H.R. 4089.

When you call, you can say: "As a constituent, I would like you to vote 'NO' on H.R. 4089 that will undo years of protection for polar bears, and roll back important conservation laws." Then, send a follow-up message to your representative reiterating your opposition to this bill.

Our revelations about Avon's animal testing have provoked outrage across the world. We have a great opportunity to apply maximum pressure to Avon to stop their cruelty. But we'll need to fight hard to seize this chance, which comes in the form of a European law that is supposed to bring in a ban next year (March 2013) on the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.

If this ban comes into force it will create a huge incentive for companies like Avon, Procter & Gamble, L'Oreal etc. to stop testing on animals, as they would be prevented from selling products containing animal-tested ingredients in the world's richest market.

However, as you can imagine, these big businesses are using every trick in the book to postpone this ban, despite huge public support for it. So a really important task that you could do now is to write to your Members of the European Parliament to ask them to defend the proposed sales ban.

I've put together a sample letter to help you contact them, which you can download from here.

Humane Society International/Australia, Choose Cruelty-Free, Humane Research Australia and Lush Cosmetics have launched the Australian arm of the largest-ever global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics. The campaign, launched to coincide with World Week for Animals in Laboratories, is being rolled out simultaneously in 48 countries and more than 700 Lushstores in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Europe, India, the United States and Russia. HSI also operates a scientific outreach program in other countries, where the testing of cosmetics on animals is still required by law.

“Animal testing is the ugly secret of the beauty industry, and it’s time for it to stop. Thousands of animals such as rabbits and mice continue to endure chemical poisoning tests just to produce new lipsticks and shampoos, and that’s simply unacceptable in a modern society.”

Such testing is already banned in Europe and a further ban on the sale of cosmetics that have been newly tested on animals in other parts of the world is expected to come into effect in March 2013.

In Australia, whilst little or no cosmetics animal testing is currently licensed, there is no legal ban preventing animal testing in the future, and products tested on animals overseas are still sold in shops throughout the country.

HSI offices in Australia, Canada, India, and the United States are joining with Lush to end cosmetics cruelty with nationwide consumer campaigns in each region. HSI and its partners will work with politicians, regulators and scientists to press for change. Consumers are being urged to sign national petitions in Lush stores from 17 to 28 April, and online at fightinganimaltesting.com and hsi.org/becrueltyfree. Citizens will be able to support both an international ban, and at the same time send a strong message to the Australian government that animal testing for cosmetics needs to be banned by law.

“Animals should be protected by robust laws which force ALL companies to adopt humane methods to bring their products to market. In Lush stores across the country, we are petitioning the government to follow the EU’s lead to put in place an Australian ban on animal testing for cosmetics and ban the sale of new cosmetics that have been tested on animals.”

Liz Jackson, Choose Cruelty Free, said:

“Choose Cruelty Free is very excited to be part of this important global campaign, and we look forward to working with HSI,Humane Research Australia and Lush Cosmetics. People think animal testing is a thing of the past, but countless animals are still forced to endure horrific suffering for cosmetics testing. Choose Cruelty Free has been pressuring the Australian Government, for a number of years,

New hidden-camera footage obtained by Mercy For Animals has led to the arrest of Roberto Celedon for three felony and 10 misdemeanor criminal charges related to his illegal slaughter operation in Los Angeles County, California.

After reviewing the hidden-camera footage, Dr. Armaiti May, a practicing veterinarian and farmed animal welfare expert in Santa Monica, stated: "The blatant cruelty towards the goat and sheep at this facility is nothing short of horrifying and must be punished to the full extent of the law."

Roberto Celedon was arrested and charged with a felony under California Penal Code 597(b) which states that every person who "tortures, torments," "cruelly kills any animal" or "subjects any animal to needless suffering" is guilty of a crime punishable by a fine of not more than $20,000 and/or imprisonment in excess of one year.

Celedon was also cited for numerous violations of the California Food and Agriculture Code for operating without a license.

During a raid of the facility, Los Angeles County Animal Control officers seized dozens sick, injured and emaciated animals. These animals are now being rehabilitated at The Gentle Barn, a sanctuary for farmed animals in California.

This case graphically illustrates the cruel, inhumane and illegal abuses that farmed animals are all too often subjected to in California and across the nation. In a civilized society, it is our moral obligation to protect all animals, including animals raised and killed for food, from needless cruelty and suffering.

While MFA works to expose and end cruelty to farmed animals, compassionate consumers can help prevent the needless suffering of animals at the hands of the meat, egg and dairy industries by adopting a compassionate vegetarian diet.

Important Hearing To Support Bill To Ban Hunting With Hounds In California

Tuesday, April 24, State Capitol, Sacramento

In California, radio-collared dogs are used to chase down frightened bears and bobcats, sometimes for many miles, until the animal nears exhaustion and is forced up a tree. When the dogs stop running, the trophy hunter then uses a tracking devise to locate the hounds and shoots the bear or bobcat out of the tree.

We have an opportunity to help the animals that are forced to participate in this cruel "sport". Senate Bill 1221, introduced by State Senator Ted Lieu, would ban hound hunting of bears and bobcats in the state of California. Please make your voice heard and help end the terrible practice of hound hunting by coming to the hearing in Sacramento.

The fate of this bill can be decided by the number of people who show up to a hearing. Please join us!

Can't attend the hearing? Please call all members of the Senate Natural Resources committee before April 24 and urge them to vote YES on SB 1221. You can say "Hi, my name is _____________ and I live in California. I know Senator ______ is going to be voting on SB 1221 in committee soon and I want to urge him/her to represent the view of 83% of California voters by supporting SB 1221. Thank you."

When managing New Mexico’s wild species, particularly wild cats, it is crucial to apply cautious, conservative methods. Mountain lion populations are very difficult to measure, so biologists can only estimate how many live in our state. When the species is already relatively rare, such as with the cougar, the approach referred to as the "precautionary principle" should guide all management actions.

The increased quotas seem to be based on an arbitrary and unsubstantiated need to “kill more cougars.”

For this reason, APNM collaborated with New Mexico Game & Fish Dept. (NMDGF) in the past decade to implement cougar management based on “total sustainable mortality,” which involves counting all cougar deaths from hunting, predation, road accidents and other causes. These measures, in conjunction with population estimates, would help protect against uncertainty in population numbers, and the state’s management of cougars would reflect more realistic circumstances that affect their survival and provide a buffer against overhunting.

Unfortunately, for the last few years, New Mexico Game & Fish and the Game Commission have not been abiding by this essential precautionary approach, and they are continuing on their persecution of these cats in 2012.

This year, NMDGF is attempting to reverse prior progressive management and are returning to the days of reckless exploitation of cougars.

In their recent proposals to the Game Commission, the Dept. has completely stripped the “total sustainability mortality” measurement from the criteria for management zone closures. Hunting—or “harvest limits” in NMDGF’s euphemistic terms—would be the only measure used for cougar management, should these amendments be enacted.

Despite NMDGF’s increases in cougar hunting in 2010, which APNM opposed due to arbitrariness and lack of scientific justification, the increased annual quotas have never been met by hunters, even before the increase. The increased quotas seem to be based on an arbitrary and unsubstantiated need to “kill more cougars”.

Also troubling in the proposed amendments:

An increase in “bag limits” (kill limits) from one cougar to two per hunter, which could effectively double cougar mortality in sensitive winter months when cougars are easiest to track, and diminish local populations faster than game wardens can respond.

A lift of the ban on lawful trapping of cougars, which would then be possible at the discretion of the Director of NMDGF (a trapper himself).

The New Mexico Game Commission heard these proposed amendments at their April meeting but have not issued a final vote. Please

H.R. 4089 which is currently being considered by the House ofRepresentatives, if passed, will allow wealthy trophy hunters toimport polar bear trophies from Canada; mandate nearly all federalpublic lands open to hunting; and remove the EPA's ability to protectplants, animals, and humans from lead poisoning through ammunition'stoxic exposure.

This act, the "Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012" will undo years ofefforts to protect polar bears and other animals.

A 20-year-old from Wisconsin is accused of illegally killing as many as 100 deer in a contest with others to "get the most deer." Prosecutors are calling it a "thrill-kill" spree, and three others have been arrested. Read the story here.

Alliance for Animals has asked the judge in this case to impose the maximum penalty available under the law, given the nature of the criminal activity, such as the number of animals killed, the "bet" to see how many animals they could kill, as well as shining a spotlight on the deer to stun them, shooting the deer out of season, shooting the deer after sundown, and trespassing.

Join me in urging the USDA not to renew the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license of Jambbas Ranch in Fayetteville, N.C. due to its repeated and ongoing violations, resulting in the suffering of Ben, a solitary bear, and the other animals kept there.

The USDA has for years repeatedly cited Jambbas for AWA violations, including unsanitary conditions, hazardous enclosures, failure to provide adequate veterinary care, and failure to supply sufficient quantities of food and potable water. Yet the agency has continued to renew Jambbas' license, despite the fact that the AWA clearly prohibits the licensing of a facility that is not in compliance with the Act.

The Department of Defense has been sawing off goats' limbs supposedly in order to train medics how to treat human injuries. But medical professionals, veterans and advocates counter that this kind of cruelty to animals is not necessary - and is, in fact, counterproductive - when more effective human-patient simulators can be used instead. Dr. James Santos is a retired Lieutenant Commander in the Navy and a physician. James started a petition on Change.org calling on Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to eliminate this outdated and unnecessarily cruel practice. Video footage from the investigation is chilling: goats' legs are cut off with garden shears and the goats moan in pain, showing that they have not been adequately anesthetized.

Of all the animals we have cared for here at Sunny Meadow Sanctuary, goats are perhaps the smartest, have the most personality, and can be the sweetest of all the animals. Our dear goat Ivy, whom we had to have euthanized recently because she had a fatal disease, was just one example of how sweet goats can be. She was the gentlest and most loving animal we have ever known. And goats are loyal. For just one example, Ivy's soulmate, Hannah, is still grieving for Ivy terribly after several weeks. She is in bad shape emotionally - scared, lonely, and jumping at every sound, every breeze. Everytime she hears a car or truck she runs to her gate hoping it is Ivy coming home because she knows Ivy left in a van we rented. She is even afraid to go to pasture. We have to stay near her and she goes to the spot in the fence where Ivy used to rub and puts her nose to the spot, closes her eyes and won't leave. It is so heartbreaking.

So for Hannah, Ivy, and all the goats tortured by the DOD, please sign this petition at the link below to demand that the military stop this horrific and unnecessary animal cruelty:

NOTE: This petition is at Change.org so you must register in order to sign a petition for the first time, but it is worth doing so because it is important for a traditional liberal group to see that a large proportion of their supporters are animal rights folks. And be sure to uncheck the second box if you want to avoid emails.

Heineken has made it very clear that they have no ties to the night club and apologize for the confusion.

Statement published on their website:

Images of dog fighting circulating on the internet

Images continue to circulate in social media channels showing a dog fight, with Heineken® banners clearly visible in the background. This is very distressing and totally unacceptable. As a company and a brand owner, we do not and would never knowingly support any event, outlet or individual involved in this type of activity. It is against our company and brand rules and - more important - against our company values.

Since this matter was brought to our attention via Facebook we have conducted an investigation and now know that:

- The venue is a nightclub in Mongolia

- The venue hosted a dog fight of which we had no knowledge and were not involved in any way

- The venue owner has verbally confirmed that Heineken® banners are visible in the pictures because the previous evening the club had been decorated for a promotional event and he had failed to remove the banners once it was over. This event was in no way related to the dog fight

Based on this we have taken the following immediate actions:

Removed all remaining promotional materials from the venue

Withdrawn all current product stock from the club

Ceased our relationship, ensuring our brands will not be available in the club again

Instructed our distributor to check every location where our brands can be enjoyed to ensure such illegal activities are not taking place. If there is any suggestion that they are, we will take the same action and remove our products

Continue to ensure our strict advertising and promotion guidelines are enforced both to the letter and the spirit of their intent

We want to thank our consumers on-line for bringing this issue to our attention. We are shocked and disappointed by these images. We fully understand the level of negative feeling amongst consumers based on what they have seen. We appreciate that the vast majority have asked for our point of view before making a judgment. We encourage our consumers to continue to use social media channels to alert us to any situation where they feel our brands are being misrepresented, so that we can take the appropriate actions.

For more information please contact john.g.clarke@heineken.com

Click here to see letter from venue owner confirming HEINEKEN had no involvement in the dog fighting activity.

I look forward to saving frogs with you far into the future, and spreading our message of respect and appreciation for nature and wildlife to the distant ends of the Earth -- plus my hometown and yours. Thanks again!

The Alliant Energy Center is bringing yet another elephant act to Dane County in May even though the County is currently discussing a ban on circus elephants in Dane County venues.

We believe that the Piccadilly Circus is contracting the Franzen Bros. Circus for their exotic animal acts. Like the Zor Shrine Circus the Piccadilly Circus contracts their exotic animal acts.

The Franzen Bros Circus has been cited by the USDA for its failure to provide proper veterinary care, its failure to meet the animals' nutritional requirements, and for its failure to provide sanitary conditions for the animals.

Most disturbing is a video that was taken of Brian Franzen at the Milwaukee Circus Parade in 2009. This video shows Brian Franzen jabbing and hooking his elephants before the parade in Milwaukee WI.

We do not want this act here. How you can help:

Contact the Alliant Energy Center and tell them that you will not be attending the Piccadilly Circus and that you disapprove of this use of animals for entertainment.

Contact your Dane County Supervisor as soon as possible. Be sure to cc Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. If you do not know your new supervisor check the website here.

Alliance for Animals handed out nearly one thousand leaflets last week regarding the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act. This common sense legislation would phase out invasive research on chimpanzees in laboratories in the U.S., retire the more than 500 government-owned chimpanzees to sanctuary, and end breeding of chimpanzees for invasive research.

If you live in Wisconsin, your Representative has probably not yet signed as a Co-Sponsor of the Act. The only Wisconsin Congresswoman to Co-Sponsor this act is Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin's 4th District!

For more info on the Great Ape Protection Act and what you can do visit our Great Ape page.